After nine years in the Office, John Briggs has retired as Provincial Grand Charity Steward at the Annual Meeting in July.
During his time in Office, John managed to oversee a very successful 2020 Festival and led many successful initiatives raising funds for many good causes and oversaw the Province's response to the many challenges resulting from the Covid-19 lockdowns, in both practical, and financial ways, including 120,000 meals prepared for the hungry and needy utilising the kitchens of the closed Masonic Centres in the Province.
One of his final projects was to raise funds on behalf of Lifelites, to equip all their hospices with VR headsets and iPads.
John came into contact with Lifelites technology early last year, at an event thanking the Province of Middlesex for supporting a local Lifelites children’s hospice project.
On hearing about the Charity’s further needs in order to get specialist technology out to their 56 children’s hospice projects, including Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and specialist iPads, John began a yearlong campaign among Middlesex Lodges.
At the end of the year, John’s appeal has helped to ensure that Lifelites can deliver iPads and Virtual Reality to children across the country, helping them to play, create and communicate, even from their hospice bed.
In the coming year, Lifelites will be donating entire packages of multiple technologies to children’s palliative care services. Each package of technology is designed to ensure it is suited to the needs of the children in care. The technology that Lifelites donates includes specialist iPads with drop-proof cases and apps that enable children to communicate if they can’t speak, and VR to help children to explore the world around them and exciting new worlds, all from the comfort of their hospice or palliative care service.
Outgoing Charity Steward and campaign creator, John Briggs said: “As a parent and grandparent myself, children’s charities have always been an area of interest for me. The work that Lifelites does is incredible and the idea that I, and the brethren have made a positive impact on children using hospice services is thanks enough.
"I want to thank the members of Middlesex who have supported this campaign and urge any other brethren to look at what Lifelites is achieving across the country for children with disabilities and life-threatening conditions and do what they can to support them.”
Lifelites’ CEO, Rob Lightfoot said: “What John and his fellow Freemasons have achieved is nothing short of remarkable. We can only continue to provide technology to support children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions thanks to fundraising efforts, and this is a fine example of how Freemasonry has the power to make the world a better place.
"We are living in a particularly difficult time with the cost of living crisis hitting families with seriously ill and disabled children harder than most. Our technology can help children to create unforgettable moments of connection and joy with their families and the hospice staff who support them.
"It is absolutely crucial that we continue to work with our children’s hospice partners to help provide the best respite and end-of-life experiences for these children.”
Lifelites has been donating equipment and services for children using every children’s hospice across the British Isles for the past 23 years and is the only charity that does this.
They continue to provide new technology, maintenance and training to hospice staff on how to use it, to ensure that as many of these children as possible will have the chance to enjoy the benefits of this technology during their short lives.
